88-92 Michael Slawson

88-92 Michael SlawsonThis is the glossary for A Streetcar Named Desire pages 88-92 by Michael Slawson

Page	Word/Term/Phrase	Meaning/Explanation
88	“Je suis la Dame aux Camellias! Vous êtes—Armand!”	This line is from the play La Dame aux camellias by Alexandre Dumas the Younger (1824-1895), which he adapted from his similarly-named 1848 novel. This line means, “I am the Lady of the Camellias! You are–Armand!” The lady is a prostitute who is used by the nobility, however she forsakes Armand. Perhaps Blanche knows that her relationship with Mitch will not end well. http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Streetcar.html#Allusions
88	“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? Vous ne comprenez pas? Ah, quelle dommage!	Here Blance is saying, “Won’t you sleep with me tonight? You don’t understand? Ah, what shame!” It is possible to see the duality of Blanche’s character from this line. She is talking to Mitch very sexually in a language which he does not understand. This reveals that she does not actually have the qualities associated with being a Southern lady, and she is just attempting to put on a show or act so that she can save herself from the decaying Southern ways of plantations and slavery. http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Streetcar.html#Allusions
89	New Orleans Athletic Club	An athletic that has undergone many changes over the years. The members of the club “were enthusiastic young gymnasts eager to encourage among the young men who lived below Canal Street an opportunity to gain the many physical advantages which gymnastic exercises offered.” The club created a sense of community for its members. http://www.neworleansathleticclub.com/
90	Samson!	Samson was a Biblical character who had great strength originating from God. Although he was a Jew, he fell in love with a Philistine prostitute named Delilah. Delilah’s brothers forced her to find the source of his strength, which was his hair. She had it cut off, making him weak, and allowing him to be arrested. At his trial, his hair grew strong again, allowing him to break the columns of the building, causing its collapse, and killing many Philistines and himself.
91	I said unhand me, sir.	In Charles Dickens’ novel Nicholas Nickelby, Kate says similar lines to the character Sir Mulberry, who is making advances on her. In the novel she is a chaste woman, unlike Blanche. The reactions of the opposing male are also very different in each work. Sir Mulberry continues to make advances until he is interrupted, while Mitch casually says to essentially say stop when he has gone too far. Blanche, who is assumed to be a well educated person, is probably attempting to emulate the chaste Kate in this interaction. http://www.classicreader.com/read.php/bookid.303/sec.19
91	Loew’s State Theater	A popular theater that showed many movies during the 1930s. http://www.saengeramusements.com/theatres/nawlins/loews/loews.htm